FESTIVE CHEF TABLES

REGI MATHEW
Culinary Director and Owner, Kappa Chakka Kandhari in Chennai and Bengaluru; co-founder, Chatti by Regi Mathew in New York

‘Time spent with friends, family over food and jokes’

Christmas celebrations begin with cake after midnight mass. The next day, our Syrian Christian breakfast includes steamed banana, appam with mutton stew, or kallappam with chicken curry. Aval vilayichathu (beaten rice with jaggery and coconut) and banana is another classic of our community, originally from Central Travancore. Lunch is a lavish feast with cutlet and sallas, bread and chicken or duck roast, appam with fish moilee, red rice, kachiya moru, beef ularthiyathu, pork fry, kodampuli fish curry, cabbage thoran and pazham nanachathu for dessert. As a child, I remember cake-making with my mother and caring for the duck that would be served for Christmas. I love it when friends and family gather to chat, crack jokes and cook together. For me, Christmas is incomplete without carols.

PAUL KINNY
Culinary Director, St Regis Mumbai

‘Good food, good music and gratitude’

For me, Christmas is an intimate celebration with my family. We reflect on the year and share our gratitude. We keep it simple — good food, good music and uninterrupted time with those who matter most. On Christmas day, we cook a classic chicken roast along with East Indian essentials like fugias and potato chops. My wife makes traditional East Indian sweets such as marzipan, milkcream, kulkuls, guava cheese, date-and-walnut rolls, boros and doughnuts, which are also shared with loved ones. Everyone knows the holiday season in hospitality is a whirlwind, but I take it as a reminder to pause and spend unhurried time with my family. I look forward to grounding myself before the chaos of the New Year. Christmas always stirs nostalgia. I remember sitting on the kitchen floor with my mother, the tiny room warm from the wood chulha, stuffing nevries with coconut and rava, then frying them. We made hundreds. That’s where my love for sharing joy through food began.

RACHEL GOENKA
Founder & CEO, TCSC Hospitality Pvt Ltd (The Sassy Spoon, House of Mandarin, Baraza & Sassy Teaspoon, 8ish)

‘Christmas time is one happy disaster’

Christmas at home is pure, happy chaos. It’s fairy lights, over-the-top decorations and plenty of food. My mum goes into full festive mode every year — no corner of the house is spared. My sister and I have officially claimed the roast chicken; that’s our Christmas territory. Since my kids were born, the gingerbread house has become a ritual. It’s less ‘Pinterest’ and more happy disaster, but that’s what makes it special. December is my excuse to slow down without guilt. Christmas almost always happens in Goa — bare feet, beach-tousled hair, long lunches and zero sense of time. Everything I love about Christmas circles back to the table: proper Goan food like sweet rice, sorpotel, roast beef and beef rolls packed with bacon and ginger.

GRACIAN D’SOUZA
Chef & Restaurant Consultant

‘Look forward to sorpotel, ginjinha’

As a Catholic, Christmas is one of the biggest festivals for my family. Growing up, we travelled to Goa to spend the holidays with our grandparents. Our Christmas rituals are a blend of Goan, Portuguese and English food traditions. We begin macerating the fruit for rum cake in the first week of December. Christmas starts for us around December 22 and continues until December 31, with a spread of various cuisines. On Christmas Day, it’s porchetta. We get it prepared in Goa, along with roast pigling and wine. Ginjinha, a sour cherry liqueur, is a family recipe. We enjoy our sorpotel, roast chicken and avoid overly spicy dishes that week.

SABY (SABYASACHI) GORAI
Chef Consultant

‘Celebration is always with kitchen family’

Christmas became important to me for two reasons: I attended a missionary school, Ascender God Church in Asansol, and my mother was from Kolkata — a city that celebrates Christmas with unmatched enthusiasm. We had a baker in the family who made plum cake. Our bloodline has Anglo-Indian and German roots, so kobiraji cutlet and devilled eggs with an outer mutton coating were part of our Anglicised meals. I left home for Goa at 16 to work at Colva Beach Hotel by Mahindra Holidays. I’ve never had an off on Christmas or New Year’s in my 30-year career. So, Christmas is always celebrated in the kitchen with my team. Mulled wine made together, turkey sandwiches or turkey rolls from leftover turkey, and sitting around a fire roasting marshmallows — it’s simple, but hearty.

JOHNY VINESH
Co-founder and Executive Pastry Chef, Lavonne Academy of Baking Science & Pastry Arts

‘Our family celebration is simple with mom’s kulkul and cookies’

My parents are Malayali Christians, and I grew up a Catholic boy in Bengaluru. Christmas meant a large gathering at my aunt’s home with my grandma and the families of her nine daughters. One aunt ran Golden Bakery, and I always looked forward to the cake she brought. Each aunt prepared a specialty — from kulkul (deep-fried, curled Goan pastry) to achappams. Unfortunately, over the years, everyone moved away, and many elders passed on. Now, with Lavonne, it’s a busy time. Our Christmas cake and other goodies are extremely popular. My wife Juni handles the decorations. At home, we celebrate quietly with my parents. It’s no longer as elaborate since it’s not a holiday for me anymore. Mom makes cookies, laddus, kulkul and kozhukkatta — rice flour toasted with coconut and jaggery. It’s super hard to chew, but Malayalis love it.